Door controller



July 24, 1928.

F. E. MARTIN DOOR CONTROLLER Filed Feb. 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 1/111 1/ [gill INVENT0R,- 1x EMart Fe l A TTORNEY.

July 24, 1928.

F. E. MARTIN DOOR CONTROLLER QMW w E d ll.

m mw mm an 1 a N\ w NM g i Q a x m mm w- M INVENTOR. Felix E.Martin M .4 TTORNEY.

Patented July 24, 192% UNITED STATES 1,678,122 PATENT OFFICE.

F LIX n. MARTIN, or Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

DOOR CONTROLLER.

Application filed February 5, 1927. Serial No. 166,134.

My invention relates to controllers for the like whereby the doors thereof may be- I opened or closed by the simple turning of a handle which handle is so placed as to be accessible to an occupant of a vehicle, without alighting therefrom, when the vehicle is about to enter the garage or just after it has emerged therefrom.

A further object is to provide a door controller of the character described which will hold the doors open until the .handle' is turned to its closing position and which is equipped with means for automatically fastening the doors in their closed position.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter, and, whileI show herewith and will describe a preferred form of construction, I desire it'to be understood that I do not'con'fine my invention to such preferred form but that various changes and adaptae tions maybe made therein without departin from the spirit of my invention as hereinafter claimed.

Referring to the drawings which accom pany this specification and vforma part thereof. Y h 1 Fig. 1 is a horizontal sectional view ofa garage showing, in plan, the main features of my door controller;

2 is a vertical sectional view of the 55 same garage showing a side view of the features' of my door controllershown in Fig. 1,

and of the fastening device associated therewith. i r

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of the three-way valve through which my door controller is operated. l .Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the door controller shown in Figs. 1 and 2, taken on line 47%4 of Fig.2. 4 Fig. 5. is a sectional view of the parts illustrated in Fig. 1, showing details ofthe fastening device of my door controller the section being taken on line 55.

Though shown in the drawings as applied to a pair of garage doors hinged at the sides and meeting in the middle of the doorway, the usual type, it is evident that my door controller readily may be modified and adapted for use with other types of swinging doors or even with sliding doors. The controller is designed to be operated by a fluid such as water, steam or air vvflowing from a constant supply, under pressure. through a control valve and a suitable pipe system.

The essential parts of my door controller are a comparatively long cylinder 10 suspended from the ceiling 11 of the gam s on suitable brackets 12,11 piston 13 fixed oii one end, ofa piston rod 1 1 so as to work in said cylinder, acrosshead 15 fixed on the project ing end of said piston rod and connectin" rods 16 hinged to said cros'shead and to th? doorsl7 of the garage so as to swing the doors outwardlyfarenough to'entirely clear the doorway. The front end of.thecylinder is equipped with a bearing 18 in which the P1511011. rod works and the rear end thereof isequipped with a pipe connection 19 into which the end of the pipe system 20, which carries the fluid, is screwed. A three-way valve 21, with an operating handle 22 adapted to be manipulated by an occupant of a vehicle, is placed on a pergola or post at a suitable distance in front of'tlie garage and at a suitableheight to enable such occupant to openor close the doors v ithout'alight-ing from the vehicle. Pipe System is connected to this valve. which may be turnedin onedirection to connect the pipe system witha drain pipe 23 or in the opposite direction to connect it with asupply pipe 24t,a s is clearly shown in Fimg, the former connection beiiw shown infuil lines and the latter being indicated by dotted Crosshead lais equipped with upwardly extending lugs .15 between the upperends of which a roller .26 ispivoted, said roller, being adapted to run on a guide bar 27 extending between said lugs 25, in parallel relation to said piston rod 14, and having oneend fixed tothe door frame asat 2S and the other fixed to one of said brackets 12, as at 29. A cord 30, attached to the middle of crosshead 15, as at 31, and extending through brackets 12 in parallel. relation to the axis of cylinder. 10, is run over a pulley 32,,fixed to the rear wall 38 of the garage and has-a weight 34: attached to its depending end. This weight and cord serve to pull back the orosshead and thus to close the doors when the valve is turned to its closing position.

The meeting edges of the two doors are formed so that one overlaps the other, as at 85, so that when the overlapping one is fastened neither of them can be opened. An

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position.

eye-bolt 36is fixed in the door having the overlapping edge, and a J-bolt 37 is fixed on one end of a pivoted bar 38, adjacent said the J-bolt will hook into said eye-bolt 36 and hold both doors fastened in their closed Said J-bolt 37 is provided with a horizontal attaching arm 37 which is bolted to the upper side of the end portionof bar 38 in such a manner as to leave a slightspace 37 between the end of said bar and the shank of said bolt. The lower end of pulling spring 42 is seated in this space and is thereby retained in correct operative posi- Pivoted bar 38 extends rearwardly,

tion. in parallel relation to guide bar 27, and terminates just above and in front of one end of crosshead 15, as is shownin Figs. 4: and 5, when the crosshead is in its rearmost position. A cam 40 is fixed on the under side of pivoted bar 38, adjacent its rear end, said cam being adapted to make contact with said crosshead, as it moves thereunder and to cause the rear end of said pivoted bar to be lifted. The pivot 41 of pivoted bar-38 being between cam 40 and J-bolt 37 it is evident that the latter will be lowered as the former is raised. An upwardly pulling spring 42, which serves as a restoring spring, is attached to the front end of pivoted bar 38 or to J-bolt 37 to yieldably hold the latter in its upper position.

The operation of my door controller is extremely simple and positive. When'itis desired to drive into the garage, the doors being closed as shown in the drawings, it is necessary only to reach out from one side ofthe vehicle and turn handle 22 through an angle of as indicated in Fig 1. Fluid under the pressure of the supply source is thus admitted to pipe system 20 and flows'into the rear end of cylinder 10 forcing piston 13, piston rodl and cross head 15 forwardly so that cam d0 operates through pivoted bar 38 to lower J-bolt 37 and unfastens the doors .andconnecting rods 16 operate immediately to swing them open. So long as the valve is left in that position the doors will be held open by the pressure of the fluid against piston 13. WVhen the doors are to be closed handle 22 is turned in a reverse direction, through an angle of 90. drain pipe 23 which carries the fluid away Pipe system 20 is thus connected with from cylinder 10 thus permitting piston 13 a to move to the rear end of the cylinder,

under the influence of weight 34 which was .its fastening position, in engagement with eye-bolt 36, as soon as crosshead 15 has reached'its Irearmost position and the doors are completely closed.

Valve 21 may be made with a detachable handle 22 which may be removed so that the valve can not be operated by an 'unauthorized person.

Having thus illustrated and described my, invention, I claim: I

1. Ina device of the classdescribed, the combination with a door, a cross-head operatively connected with said door, and means for reciprocating said cross-head; of a pivotally supported, horizontally extending bar, a J-bolt ifixed to said bar, an eye bolt carried by said door with which said J-bolt co-operates, and a cam carried by said bar to co-operate with said cross-head for the purpose of fastening and unfastening said positions of said door at predetermined cross-head.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a door, a cross-head operatively connected with said door and means for reciprocating said cross-head; of a pivotally supported horizontally extending bar, a J-bolt having a vertical shank provided with a horizontal attaching arm, means for attaching saidarm to the upper side of an end portion of said bar so that a slight space is provided between said shankand the end of said bar, an eye bolt on said door, an upwardly pulling spring having its lower end inserted between the end of said bar and the shank of said J- bolt and being thereby secured to said at- FELIX E; MARTIN. 

